Nipsey Hussle 'The Marathon': Release date, concept, how to live stream and all about late rapper's visual album
West Coast hip-hop legend Nipsey Hussle might no longer be with us, but his estate is making sure his legacy lives on with the help of a visual album. The official Instagram account of the late rapper, which is supposedly run by his team now, announced a new project dedicated to the Grammy-nominated artist.
Fans of Nipsey can soon experience a live visual album called ‘The Marathon’ which was also the name of a mixtape the rapper had dropped in 2010. The renowned hip-hop artist dropped his first mixtape in 2005 called ‘Slauson Boy Volume 1', which also went to become the name of his record label. He then went on to release two such tapes, ‘Bullets Ain't Got No Name,’ Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 with Cinematic Music Group and Epic Records followed by a single called ‘Hussle in the House'. Nipsey’s debut studio album only came out in February 2018 even though he was active in the hip-hop scene for more than a decade. Titled ‘Victory Lap', the album wasn't just a critical success, but also proved to be a commercial hit. It went on to be nominated for Best Rap Album at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards in 2019. Talking about the latest project from Nipsey’s estate, here’s everything you need to know.
Release date
The visual album experience has been titled ‘The Marathon’ and it will hit YouTube on February 5, 2021. Fans will be able to tune into the live album experience at 6 pm PT / 9 pm ET.
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Concept
The official Instagram account of ‘Racks in the Middle’ hitmaker dropped a teaser for the live album experience where we saw a Mercedes speeding with Nipsey’s 2010 track, ‘Love?’ from ‘The Marathon'. The visual was accompanied with the caption, “THE MARATHON Visual Album Experience on YouTube Live this Friday, February 5th at 6pm PT / 9pm ET @themarathonclothing @puma @okidoki.” The animation studio Oki Doki, which is also a part of the new project, described the live stream album experience as “Celebrating the life of an incredible human, the Marathon mixtape, and the first week of #BlackHistoryYear.”
Nipsey’s estate had first announced the project in December 2020 to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of ‘The Marathon'. They had shared a lengthy post on Instagram along with stunning visuals. The caption read: “Today marks 10 years since the release of #TheMarathon. A project our team holds near and dear to our hearts for many reasons. It represents the story of Nipsey’s resilience and unwavering faith in his mission, and the authenticity and honesty in his message.”
It further read, “It also was the first seed planted in the Marathon brand that gave fruit to many other branches that Nipsey architected, as only he could do. In commemoration of this anniversary we’re proud to announce our collaborative effort with @okidoki to bring to life an interactive live visual album experience coming in 2021.” The announcement was concluded with, “The experience will give viewers and intimate look at the era that helped shape this masterpiece. The people, the places, the stories, and more. Stay tuned, official drop date coming soon!”
How to live stream
Fans have to simply log into YouTube in order to experience the live visual album. You can subscribe to Nipsey Hussle’s official YouTube channel right here.